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| San Diego Grantmakers Update | |
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"When I buy businesses, it's the same as investing in philanthropy. You can have the greatest goals in the world, but if you have the wrong people running it, it isn't going to work. On the other hand, if you've got the right person running it, almost anything is possible."--Warren Buffett |
April/May 2010 |
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How are Children & Families Doing in San Diego?
Speakers:
Sandra L. McBrayer, CEO, The Children's Initiative Doug Sawyer, President and CEO, United Way of San Diego Mark Cafferty, President and CEO, San Diego Workforce Partnership Sandra McBrayer will present key findings and outcomes from the 2009 San Diego County Report Card on Children and Families. The Report Card presents data on 26 health and well-being indicators that together present a snapshot of the health and progress for the children and families in San Diego County.
An overview of this information,as well as recommendations for the region, will be presented. This national award-winning Report Card is produced in partnership with the County of San Diego and local charitable foundations, including The United Way of San Diego County, The San Diego Foundation, The McCarthy Family Foundation, and The California Endowment. SDG members Doug Sawyer and Mark Cafferty will share how their organizations use the report card to drive their funding strategies in our community. To take a look at the report, click here (pdf).
Special note: we have invited local elected officials and members of their staffs to join us to discuss how public officials and philanthropists can work effectively to improve well-being.
Click here for a complete list of SDG programs and working group meetings. |
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Spotlight on San Diego's Third Sector
Please join SDG partner USD's Caster Family Center for a presentation and interactive discussion.
- What is the economic impact of San Diego's nonprofit sector?
- How does it relate to San Diego's overall economy?
- How confident are people in San Diego's nonprofit organizations?
They will be highlighting findings from their latest research about San Diego's nonprofit sector. An interactive discussion will follow the presentation, and Nancy Jamison will be one of the panelists. |
Member & Community Partner News
YOUR ORGANIZATION COULD BE FEATURED HERE! Don't forget to let SDG know what's new with you, from grantmaking to awards, events, and more. We want to share the good news about all of our members. To submit an item for the newsletter, email nancy@sdgrantmakers.org.
Former LEAD San Diego President and CEO Judy Forrester has joined Bank of America as Senior Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility Market Manager for San Diego.
On April 15, First Lady Michelle Obama visited New Roots Community Farm in City Heights to discuss her campaign's involvement in The California Endowment's Building Healthy Communities initiative.
The Leichtag Family Foundation's new Program Officer is Sharyn Goodson. Previously, Sharyn was director of grants of Jewish Family Service of San Diego and program director of the Aspen Community Foundation in Aspen, CO.
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Reports from SDG Programs
Beth Jarosz of San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) shared how our neighborhoods will be transformed in the next 40 years. Click here (pdf) for her presentation. There was discussion that funders could focus more on National City, San Ysidro, and Western Chula Vista since these are the regions with the highest poverty rates, lowest educational attainment rates, and high rates of ethnic minority growth. -
Because the older adult population will continue to grow, Anahid Brakke of the Gary & Mary West Foundation shared that their goal is to support services that promote aging at home.
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Kathy Patoff of Union Bank shared that they are engaged with diverse communities because it is both a philanthropic and business imperative.
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Kathy Lembo from South Bay Community Services gave a service provider's perspective, noting that the aging population is an opportunity to engage older adults as volunteers and employees.
About 80 SDG and Jewish Community Foundation funders and donors came together for a lovely JCF-hosted luncheon event featuring Jeffrey Solomon, President of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies. Marjory Kaplan of JCF held an "arm chair " conversation with Mr. Solomon, where he shared his views about high-impact giving based on the importance of blending both the heart and the mind, no matter what form your philanthropy takes. Every attendee was provided with a copy of his book, The Art of Giving: Where the Soul Meets A Business Plan.
David Greco from the Nonprofit Finance Fund presented hands-on, easy to understand financial analysis approaches for funders. His presentation (pdf) is available on SDG members-only site and is full of useful and practical information on how to understand what is going on with potential grantees and how you can help the most. Also be sure to see the recent research that NFF did on the state of nonprofits in 2010.
The Why and the How: Building the Capacity of Grassroots Nonprofits (March 16)
We were pleased to have Linda Wood of The Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, John Fanestil of Foundation for Change and Hamse Warfa of Alliance Healthcare Foundation lead an informative program on capacity-building. Linda, a nationally-known expert on the topic, shared some helpful tips for funders, including starting with small grants and then using a long-term phased funding approach to help build their capacity over time.
Nick Macchione and Dale Fleming of San Diego County Health and Human Services presented an overview for funders on the future direction of the county's strategy. Nick emphasized that the county is pursuing an integrated approach to leverage existing resources and create healthier environments for San Diegans. Click here (pdf) for more information on their strategy. |
Philanthropy & Advocacy
A recent National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy study (pdf) on Los Angeles nonprofits engaged in advocacy has raised the profile of this important issue. The report found that every dollar foundations and other donors provided to community organizations engaged in advocacy and organizing generated $91 in benefits for the communities they serve--including higher wages, healthcare savings, increased use of public transit, new school construction, and affordable housing expansion. Non-monetary benefits also included the protection of voting rights, improved working conditions, and expanded service delivery to marginalized populations. NCRP recommends that foundations increase their support for advocacy and organizing. Check out PND and LA Times coverage of the study.
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Exciting Resource from The Foundation Center: Philanthropy In/Sight Philanthropy In/Sight
With support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Ford Foundation for ongoing development and improvement, the Foundation Center is making Philanthropy In/Sight™ available to members of San Diego Grantmakers free of charge until September 2010.
- Philanthropy In/Sight™ is an interactive mapping tool enabling grantmakers to visualize the spending patterns of private foundations and public charities through a familiar Google Map interface.
- The maps pinpoint the locations of grantmakers and recipients, depicting where foundation dollars are having the greatest effect or where funding is needed most, and provide detailed information about funders, recipients, and grants.
- Click here to access this resource. By using Philanthropy In/Sight™, you are agreeing to be bound by the terms and conditions of use that appear in the "Terms of Use License." You can also view a recorded webinar introduction to this tool--or participate in this LIVE webinar:
the locations of grantmakers and grant recipients on Google maps and view detailed information about their activities and grants awarded and received; view aggregated grantmaker and grant data by country, state, county, city, metro area, congressional district, and ZIP code; and overlay grantmaker and grant data with demographic and other thematic data. Want Your Data in Philanthropy In/Sight? The eGrant Reporting Program enables grantmakers to submit electronic grants lists to the Foundation Center on a regular basis, expediting their inclusion in Foundation Directory Online (FDO) and Philanthropy In/Sight. Participants in the program will be provided with a direct link to FDO Professional interactive maps and charts reflecting their foundation's grants activity, on request. These complimentary maps and charts can be used by foundation staff, included in presentations to the foundation's board, or posted on the foundation's intranet or public web site. To become an eGrant Reporter, email
To learn more, contact Kati Neiheisel (212-807-3675).
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Philanthropic Headlines
PND: "Foundation Giving Declined by Record 8.4% in 2009, Study Finds"
"Challenged by a prolonged economic downturn, the nation's grantmaking foundations cut their giving by an estimated 8.4 percent in 2009, a new report from the Foundation Center finds."
Chronicle: "Despite Asset Gains, Most Grantmakers Will Keep Purse Strings Tight in 2010"
"The assets of most of the nation's big foundations grew modestly last year, a welcome sign of recovery after the nation's financial collapse eroded the wealth of most philanthropies by as much as a third, a new Chronicle survey finds.
But despite the gains, foundation officials remain wary about the future."
Change.org blog post: "The Perils of Nice"The post discusses the perception that nonprofits are "nice--but not competent" (found in this Stanford study) and argues that nonprofits need to get meanier, uglier and messier to get things done. Huffington Post: "'Trust Us' is No Reponse to those Who Doubt"Jane Wales of The Aspen Institute discusses recent arguments that "growing populist fervor in society isn't just anti-government, but anti-institution -- and a threat to philanthropy, one that can't be summarily dismissed and should propel changes." |
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Resources
More Project Streamline Guides
Components of the Project Streamline Guide to Streamlining Series are now available. Grant Budgets and Financial Reporting (pdf) and Online Applications and Reporting (pdf) provide recommendations to increase the net impact of a grant by eliminating unnecessary paperwork and removing technology barriers that distract from the mission of both the grantmaker and the nonprofits it serves. COF Legislative Update
The Council on Foundations has released The 2010 Legislative Agenda for Philanthropic Growth (pdf), including priority issues like the excise tax, IRA charitable rollover, and charitable deduction rates. Rethinking the Management of Foundation Endowments
This Commonwealth Fund guide reviews the performance of foundation endowments since October 2007, and offers lessons for investors, trends in endowment management models, and the strengths and weaknesses of five models. Report on State Budget Crises' Impact on Nonprofits
This special report (pdf) from the National Council of Nonprofits highlights the challenges faced by nonprofits and recommends the following steps for grantmakers (see pages 9-10): convening community leaders and supporting policy work. Pushing Foundations Toward the Common GoodIn this audio interview featured in The Chronicle, Mark Rosenman, director of Caring to Change, argues that by focusing on specific issues, foundations can undermine their effectiveness. You can also check out the Caring to Change report on this issue, and this Philanthropy Journal article covering it.
Shared Measurement ResourcesA webinar on the subject of shared measurement hosted by FSG Social Impact Advisors and Grantmakers for Effective Organizations attracted so much interest that they have made a series of related resources available, including this wiki, the presentation, and their research. Foundation Effectiveness Toolkit The Center for What Works has launched a Foundation Effectiveness Toolkit to improve
foundation staff's understanding and practice of outcome measurement.
Toolkit components include a series of four 30-minute webinars, a tangible action plan, and two one-to-one phone consultations that facilitate implementation through personalization and accountability. The group has also released a Nonprofit Effectiveness Toolkit. Film: The Art of the StealThis documentary (see the NYT review) covers the battle over the relocation of the Barnes Foundation's art collection, and raises interesting questions about donor intent. Several SDG members have recommended the film: check it out on your cable on-demand/pay-per-view service or rent it! |
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Other Events of Interest
*Note: There are also two panels with Van Jones from 12:00-3:45pm at the Jacobs Center,
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| This online SDGrantmakers Update is published by San Diego Grantmakers to help SDG members meet the challenges of philanthropy today. Our mission is to connect, educate, develop, and inspire a diverse group of foundations and corporations to stimulate effective philanthropy in the San Diego region. Copies of past editions are archived here.
Contact Nancy Jamison, 858/875.3333 or nancy@sdgrantmakers.org to suggest article ideas or submit news items. | |
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The Caster Family Center for Nonprofit and Philanthropic Research: A Spotlight on San Diego's Third Sector